


Crest of the Dragon

by worldismyne



Category: Xiaolin Showdown (Cartoon)
Genre: Adventure, Implied RaiKim
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:40:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 10,263
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27226699
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/worldismyne/pseuds/worldismyne
Summary: Raimundo's transition to leadership isn't as easy as he makes it appear. Working together, the group tries to advance to the next level, but could the past be distracting them from the present? The fifth Dragon Warrior has yet to reveal themselves. A circumstance Hannibal Bean is more than willing to extort. A fan envisioned fourth season.
Kudos: 12





	1. Fatally Optimistic

1600 years ago, back when the great masters were still in training, a dangerous evil made itself known. He used ancient magic to manipulate the powers of the Elemental Dragon Warriors to rule the lands. This warrior called himself Hannibal Bean. Under his reign, the dragons in training were powerless, unable to use their Xiaolin Elements. However, this power wasn't enough. Hannibal wanted the ultimate power: eternal youth. Using his might, he destroyed the Xiaolin Temple and unsealed the Scroll of Jong. Within its passages was the Fountain of Youth, a potion that would give the user immortality. However, it required one rare ingredient: the blood of a dragon.

Misinterpreting the instructions, Hannibal made a potion using blood from his shield, only to be trapped eternally in a monstrous form. His quest for longevity had ripped his empire and human body from him, which left him too weak to fight on his own. With each new try, the potions fell shorter and shorter from their mark. Eventually, his physical state was too weak to take anymore experimentation. So he found himself a new test subject: one of the chosen ones.

* * *

A chilly summer wind blew over the empty beach of Alaska. On another Wu hunt, the Xiaolin Warriors were struggling to find the Shen Gong Wu. It had already been half an hour, and there was still no sign of the Wu. Jack Spicer was struggling to keep his locator functioning in the humidity. Clay rubbed his arms and looked up to the shivering dragon perched on his hat.

"I don't figure your sniffer's cleared up enough to help us?" Clay sighed.

"Sorry, I've got zip." Dojo shook his head. "I always was more of a Spring dragon."

"Maybe," A smug Heylin Witch cawed, "you should stop relying on a gecko to find all your Shen Gong Wu." She descended down to the sand in her human form, though considerably less powerful since she'd allied with Chase Young.

"GECKO!?" Dojo seethed. A dim glow came from the base of the hill. "THERE! It's there!" Xiaolin and Heylin alike ran head long toward the luminescent sand. It was Jack who was victorious. He held up the bronze tunic with pride.

"The Terracotta Beizi is mine!" He cackled.

"Oh no you don't!" Kimiko shouted. She and Wuya lunged at the Wu causing the boy genius to shriek in terror. "A Showdown Trio." She challenged.

"My Ring of the Nine Dragons against your Sun Chi Lantern and Silk Spitter." Wuya added.

"Fine, fine," Jack said through a mouth full of sand, "but I got here first so I pick the showdown. We race," he looked over at the frigid ocean, "on jet skis. First to reach the Beizi wins."

"LET'S GO!" They shouted. "Xiaolin Showdown!" Ice shot across the ocean and down below sea level. Arching waves were frozen into walls, the sea life within statuesque in mid-swim. The ice acted as the path for the roaring water. With no regards for the weather, their showdown gear was comprised of fairly revealing swimsuits. The three found themselves mounted on Jet Skis, engines revved and ready for the race.

"GONG TI TANPAI!" They shouted. Jack immediately turned and pointed the magical spindle at this opponents.

"Silk Spitter!" The pearlesent goo shot out and formed a net-like trap over the two, preventing them from reaching the handles. "What's wrong girls?" Jack chortled. "Afraid of getting your hair wet?" He fish-tailed, soaking the pair, before zooming off. Wuya tore off the solidified casing and chased after Jack.

"Oh he is so going to pay!" Kimiko hissed as fire ran up her body. Her element charcolized the silk, returning her free range of motion as she floored the gas.

Sitting above the race on an ice pedestal, her teammates watched the flames coil up her arms, unable to help as she tore though the waves. Omi was the only one who didn't appear surprised, having grown up in the Xiaolin Temple all his life. Their dragon guardian had little advice to offer, as he usually preferred to stay away from such conflicts in the past.

"I didn't know she could do that." Clay murmured.

"This doesn't look good." Raimundo agreed. While his knowledge of magical machinery was limited, he was certain that fire did not mix with this particular challenge.

"Perhaps her anger is once more getting the better of her?" Said Omi.

"Kimiko!" Raimundo shouted from the peanut gallery. "You have to calm down!"

"Raimundo's right," Clay added, "if that tank catches fire, you're done for!"

The three racers came up to sharp left turn. Jack was still in the lead as they rounded the corner, but Wuya was quickly gaining. Pulling on the handles , she went to turn, only to have the machine turn the opposite direction into a wall. The impact was fierce, and the shout of frustration she gave was hardly graceful.

"Curse these infernal contraptions!" She kicked the wall to point the nose in the proper direction. "Whoever heard of a showdown with stupid machines anyway." Now far behind, Wuya had to gun it if she even wanted to get back in the running. The spectating monks cheered as Kimiko came up on Jack's tail.

"Wudai Mars-" The flames climbed up her back and into her hair.

"NO!" Her team collectively shouted.

"Use a different element!" Raimundo flailed his arms about wildly.

"A better element!" Omi added. "Which would be whatever element you chose." He amended sheepishly under the scolding stares of his team. Kimiko held the golden lantern aloft.

"Sun Chi Lantern, WATER!" A huge wave swallowed up Jack.

"Yes!" Omi cheered. He quelled his excitement to give an apologetic grin to his peeved companions. "My happiness comes from Kimiko's success?" He explained transparently. "Of course it had nothing to do with the fact she chose my element over yours."

From the arena Wuya growled, she was nowhere close to the finish!

"Ring of the Nine Dragons!" A carbon copy of Wuya leaped into the air and bounced off of Jack as he resurfaced. "Oh dear, it looks like you got your hair wet." The original Wuya chuckled as she splashed Jack. "Hope that helped."

"Hey!" He sputtered. The double landed in front of Kimiko and then sprung for Jack's downed machine a few yards ahead.

"Ring of the Nine Dragons!" The double called, yet she didn't disappear, merely smirked as she zoomed toward the finish line. Kimiko looked over her shoulder to see Wuya's abandoned Jet Ski hurtling toward her without a driver. With no time to change course, the two vehicles collided. There was a collective cringed from the private audience as Kimiko went flying through into the icy drink. Clawing at the water, the young dragon sputtered for air.

"Sun Chi Lantern!" But it was too late. Wuya had crossed the finish line.

The showdown arena lapsed and folded in on itself, returning the group to the Alaskan beach. Unfortunately, the three competitors were still soaked to the bone.

"Once again, it pays to be evil." Wuya chuckled with her bag full of magical artifacts in tow.

"Do not fret Kimiko," Omi beamed, "the Terracotta Beizi only brings rocks to the user. It is most useless since we already have Clay."

"Hey now, I'm not a Shen Gong Wu." Clay objected. "Just because I can use Earth Techniques, doesn't mean y'all can."

"Yes," Omi nodded, "but why would we want to?"

"Can it you two!" Kimiko shivered. "Argue on your own time, I need to get back to the temple to change." The monks gave her wide birth as she stomped over to Dojo.

"You can take the seat up front," Rai suggested, "less wind chill."

* * *

Wuya crept into the massive cave, watchful for any of Chase's wildcats. It appeared that there were none by the back entrance. Odd, usually the mangy beasts were crawling all over the place. She tried her best to hide the new Shen Gong Wu within her robe before she got caught. However, she was too late. The sound of a man clearing his throat echoed throughout the cavern.

"Just what in the name of evil do you think you're doing?" Chase drawled.

"I was- err-" Wuya glanced down at the Wu in her possession. "Having these polished for you." She did her best to give him a charming smile.

"Last I checked," Chase said with an eyebrow raised, "silk does not need to be polished." Wuya stuttered as she did her best to think of an excuse. "Don't waste your breath. I have little interest in you obsession over those useless trinkets." Wuya bit her lip and growled.

"Sun Chi Lantern!" She hollered. Chase chuckled and stepped out of the beam.

"How interesting, usually you take a couple of hours to prove my point." He dusted off his shoulder. "Let me know when you finally give up on using those toys and I'll consider reevaluating your worth." He sniggered, leaving the witch to fume.

"I do not have take this from you! Terracotta Beizi!" The stone of Chase's palace ripped away from the structure and formed a towering pile behind her. "Rise my rock creatures!" The lantern glowed an iridescent green. The rock behind her began to erupt in a green flame and formed a granite panther five times her height. A roar bellowed from the beast. "Not exactly what I had in mind, but it will do." She pointed at the Prince of Darkness, who was poised to fight. The golem like creature thundered toward him as he went to kick Wuya in the face. With a jagged jaw, the creature snatched him up by the leg. "I think it's time for a little change in the pecking order around here." She snapped her fingers and the panther threw him through the wall and out of the cave. "You should have studied more when you were with Dashi." She used the glowing Beizi to seal the hole up with a slam.

* * *

"I am just saying that out of all the elements, Earth is the more reliable element." Clay professed later on the training ground.

"Reliable? If Earth is so reliable, then why is water the element of choice in medicine?" Omi countered.

"That doesn't make a lick of sense."

"Ancient Chinese medicine Buster Brown." Dojo clarified. He lazed about on the grass, watching the monks bicker as they waited for the morning's training exercise to be assigned. 

"Be that as it may," Clay shook his head, "it doesn't change the fact that Earth attacks, in general, have been more effective against our enemies."

"That is not true," Omi scowled, "my ice technique has never failed."

"But you need the Orb of Tornami to do it." Clay pointed out. The two looked to their leader who held his hands up.

"Don't even think about it. Just because I'm leader now, that doesn't mean I have to settle all of your arguments." He coughed. "Besides, Wind trumps all of you." The trio launched themselves into a three way argument. Though it was hard to hear when they were talking over each other.

"DOJO!" The three called.

"Alright, I'm right here, geez." Dojo threw on a tiny judge's rob. "Each one of you will take turns stating your case, starting with Clay." He banged a gavel against a tiny desk and let the cowboy step forward.

"To my knowledge, there has not been a Shen Gong Wu that can create an earthquake. However, previous Xiaolin Dragons have been able to." Said Clay. Dojo nodded his head in agreement.

"This is true, but elemental manipulation on that scale doesn't start until you're a Shoku warrior at the earliest." At this time, Raimundo was the only one on the team who made it to Shoku Warrior. It was part of what guaranteed him his spot as leader, much to the youngest monk's disappointment. Still, he did not let the power imbalance shake his spirit.

"I've got this in the bucket." Omi grinned.

"Bag." Raimundo corrected, yet Omi stayed vigilant.

"Unlike my fellow warriors, I have used my element to travel through time!" Omi wiggled his fingers for effect, earning a pleased hum from the judge. Raimundo calmly stepped forward.

"I can fly." He bowed shallowly and returned to his place in line.

"Point Raimundo!" Dojo cheered.

"WHAT?" Omi gasped. "How does flying outrank time travel?"

"Everyone wants to fly." Dojo elaborated. "Specifically you all fly every day, using me. Flying isn't just a talent, it's an art." His eyes watered a bit as he spoke. Just as Omi was about to argue, the ground beneath them shook. They turned to see Clay had made a small barn.

"Crude," Dojo commented, "but effective."

"I like to keep things practical." Clay tilted his hat.

"Clay gets a point." Dojo nodded. Omi's face pinched into a frown.

"I do not believe I have properly made my point." Omi held the blue orb over his head. "Orb of Tornami!" A flood poured from the mouth of the orb, washing the humble formation away.

"Hey!" Clay shouted.

"How practical is your mud hut?!" Omi snickered.

"Impressive." Dojo nodded taking a few notes. "Point to Omi."

"Now we just have to clean things up!" Raimundo grinned. He clapped his hands together creating a massive tornado. The force was far more destructive then he had originally intended, for as it bee lined for the mud puddle, it unearth the training yard in its path. Mud and rocks went flying every which way, artfully decorated by the torn up grass. Raimundo quickly subdued his attack the moment he lost control, but the damage was already done. Whistling, Clay surveyed the yard.

"Those Shoku powers of yours are mighty impressive Rai." Said Clay.

"Indeed they are," a weathered voice agreed, "that is why they should be used wisely."

"MASTER FUNG!" The group yelped and turned to see their beloved Master dripping in mud.

"I suppose there is a reasonable explanation for all of this?" He asked, wiping the mud from his face.

"I was trying to prove that water is the superior element-" Omi began, only to deflate under Master Fung's gaze. The children felt embarrassed and ashamed, even though their master remained calm, they could tell he was disappointed.

"I see," Master Fung nodded, "if that is true, then perhaps I made a mistake. If one element was superior, then clearly you should have trained in separate temples."

"I apologize, I didn't mean to question your judgment." Omi bowed. Clay and Raimundo followed suit.

"No harm is done, though I can't say the same for the garden." He sighed. "Remember, a chair with one leg is destined to fall."

"How about one with three legs?" Raimundo asked as Kimiko shuffled onto the field. "I don't think Kim's up for another Wu hunt today."

"What, no, I'm fine." She said nasally and froze in her tracks the minute her heal hit the mud. "What happened here?" It would take hours for them to clean everything up, and she knew they were the ones that would have to do it.

"Raimundo is right," Master Fung concluded, "you're in no condition to do battle." Kimiko knew better than to beg, but she wore her defensiveness on her sleeve.

"Maybe someone else should stay behind?" Clay suggested.

"I don't need a babysitter!" Kimiko grumped. "I get the picture okay, I look awful." She tugged off her brightly colored wig to reveal a black tangled mess. All that effort to get dressed up and they were already sending her away. 

"It's not that Kimiko," Omi countered, "we just want you to get your rest."

"Yeah, whatever." Kimiko groaned as she shuffled back into the temple. "I'm going to bed."

* * *

Chase Young stalked across what used to be his land. Though stoic, his face definitely did not match the sheer amount of annoyance he felt. His warrior cats loyalty remained with whoever fed them, which at the moment, was Wuya. Otherwise he would have taken care of the witch then and there. However inconvenient, he was determined to make this situation work in his favor.

"Look at that Ying Ying," a snide bean said from over head, "looks like somebody got the boot." A black and red bird circled Chase from above like a vulture. On her back, the evil Mastermind Hannibal Bean sat with a small bag of popcorn.

"I have neither the time or patience to deal with you." Chase grimaced, "I suggest you find someone more gullible to pester with your half baked plan.

"You're utter disdain for me is flattering," Hannibal smirked, "considering how highly you think of yourself. 1500 years is a long time to hold a petty grudge."

"Let me make one thing clear," Chase snarled, "my desire to continuously reject your offer has little to do with your scam and more to do with the fact that you simply can't be trusted. Now, if you don't mind, I have real evil to accomplish."

* * *

A chime at the front door stirred the ill monk from her feverish slumber. Admittedly, she did ache all over and needed rest, she just wished her team would trust her judgement more. Still, there was no rest at the temple as the chime rang again.

"I'm coming." Kimiko groaned shuffling over to the front gate in a fluffy blue and green bathrobe. The older monks were in the soundproof meditation room and with her friends on another Wu hunt, that left her to answer the door. "Yes?" She asked as she opened the door. When she saw it was Chase Young, she scowled. "Omi's not here." She went to slam the door in his face, but was stopped by Chase's foot.

"It seems I have come at a bad time. Regardless, I am in need of your assistance."

"Even if I knew where he was, I wouldn't tell you." Kimiko tried to push Chase's foot out of the door, but she was too weak to make him budge.

"I didn't ask for the Dragon of Water, I asked for assistance."

"Like I'd help you." She pulled out the Star Hanabi and pointed the gem toward him. "You can't just turn your back on everyone and expect people to help you when you mess up."

"There will be no need for that." He chuckled. "A true warrior can tell when they are not wanted." He showed himself out, leaving the Dragon of Fire alone in the hallway. Her friends were who knows where and the local monks probably wouldn't come to check on her. She loathed being sick, especially now. Slowly she made her way back to her room and with a groan flopped onto the bed. She just wished she had the energy to throw together a playlist, anything to cut away at the silence. The quiet isolation reminded her too much of home for her liking.

* * *

Chase encroached on the edge of the Land of Nowhere. Steam from the boiling geysers made it difficult to see anything other than a shadow of the surrounding forest. However, he was certain he wasn't alone.

"With the place all to yourself, I expected you to abuse what little power you have." Chase smirked.

"You should be flattered then." Wuya chuckled and the gigantic panther she road peeled away from the hazy horizon into view. "After all, I took the time to greet you in person."

"This is your last chance Wuya," Chase barked, "surrender now and you'll be able to leave with a shred of dignity." Chase narrowly dodged a humongous paw.

"Terracotta Beizi!" Wuya called and flung several boulders to compensate for the rock creature's slowness. With the constant attacks and exposure to the geysers' heat, Chase would be worn down quicker than usual. All Wuya had to do was remain as stationary as possible. That proved a little difficult when the dust settled and there was no sign of Chase. She remained vigilant and soon picked up the sound of someone panting from below.

"You sound a little worn out," Wuya mused, "let me give you a chance to catch your breath." She stomped, and from the belly of the beast shot several large stalagmites. Chase reverted to his lizard form, then used one of the rock formations to climb up to the cat's back. He hurled himself toward the Heylin witch, who easily jumped over him. "Give it up; you can't fight much more in your condition." She evaded another attack and threw a boulder at him. Close combat was too risky when your opponent had claws. "Perhaps, if you beg, I might consider taking you under my wing." A complete bluff on her part, she still needed a few more Wu in order to keep Chase in his place. Didn't Jack still have a few useful ones?

A cawing broke her concentration in battle. Soon she found herself struggling to pull a red and black falcon from her hair. She shrieked as it took a chunk of her hair in its beak and pulled. With her grip on the lantern looser, Chase easily kicked it away.

"I did not need your assistance in this matter, Hannibal." Chase hissed. He pointed the Shen Gong Wu his cats had filched from the Xiaolin vault during his 'pleasant' visit with the Dragon of Fire. "Kazuzu Atom!" He shouted and hit the lantern with an explosive force.

"NO!" Wuya screamed, her hand outstretched in a useless attempt to stop the desturction. The golden lantern split down the middle and the green flame trapped within shot up. For a brief moment the sky line darkened. The panther quickly collapsed without the Heylin magic, leaving Wuya standing atop a pile of rubble. "What have you done!?"

* * *

Even from the streets of Tokyo, the back lash from the Sun Chi lantern could be seen.

"Oh no, that's not good." Dojo murmured as he watched the skyline over Tokyo darken. The dragon shivered and crawled down the arm of his cowboy companion.

"What's wrong Dojo?" Omi asked as he set down a pair of sunglasses in the outdoor market place.

"I'm afraid the field trips over kids," Dojo quickly transformed, ushering them to board, "someone just broke the Sun Chi Lantern."

"Are we looking at 1,000 years of darkness?" Raimundo finished paying and jumped aboard the dragon.

"Not quite," Dojo soothed, "but we still need to go back and check with Master Fung. If the Sun Chi Lantern broke with someone's chi still in it, it could be lost forever."

"And the last person to use it was Kimiko!" Omi realized as they quickly headed back to the temple. "WITH MY CHI!"

* * *

Wuya stormed past Chase back toward the evil lair. She didn't have the patience to deal with Chase's stoic gloating, reveling over her misery.

"Shen Gong Wu, ruined." She muttered, kicking a bit of rubble as she passed the main hall. "Ancient art, lost for a hundred years, **or longer** if I no one finds my scroll." She could hear his calm footsteps as she paced around looking for a pair of scissors.

"And what good do you think that will do?" Chase asked, a powerless being brandishing a pair of scissors was hardly a threat to him.

"I'M GOING TO FIX MY HAIR!" Wuya fumed and promptly locked herself in the bathroom. Chase sighed, today's battle was hardly a substitution for his usual routine. A pity he had to be interrupted by that back-stabbing bean.

"It doesn't matter how many 'favors' you do for me," Chase glared up at the spying foul, "my answer is still no." Ying Ying took to flight, chased out of the palace by a flock of Chase's crows. He rolled his eyes and left to resume his training in another room.

During his practice, Chase had heard yet another scream of frustration come from the other end of his home. He gritted his teeth, just because she was a guest didn't mean she was allowed to spend hours throwing a tantrum. Eventually he had managed to finish his tai chi without further interruption, yet he couldn't find Wuya in her usual areas. She couldn't possibly still be gushing over herself in the mirror. Scratch that, he knew she could. Still, it was his bathroom, and no inconvenienced house guest was allowed to take it from him. He pounded on the door.

"If you are under the impression you own every mirror in my home, you're sorely mistaken."

"I-I'll be out soon!" Wuya answered, causing the dragon lord to furrow his brow. Odd, that wasn't how she usually responded. In the corner of his vision, he could see stray tufts of red peaking out from underneath the door.

"Open the door." He demanded. Nothing, he heard nothing on the other side. "Wuya!" Now he was going to need a new door. He made quick work of the obstacle mentally filing it as more damage she had caused. The impact had startled her, and quickly she started gathering something from the floor. She sat, surrounded by piles upon piles of butchered hair. Yet from the looks of it, she still had her large, flowing locks on her head.

"It… it keeps growing back." She laughed hollowly. "I tried and tried, but…" She tapered off. "I'll be out; I just need a little time." She couldn't change. No madder how hard she tried she would never be able to change. Suddenly, the youthful face staring back at her didn't seem as enviable. He sat down on the floor next to her and didn't say a word.

* * *

Back at the temple, the group of monks let out a collective sigh of relief. It had not been Omi's chi that was destroyed with the lantern. Master Fung assured them that there was nothing wrong with the youngest of the group. A small cough alerted them that the Dragon of Fire was again on the move. She shuffled into the room, a little color had returned to her cheeks.

"Kimiko, what are you doing up?" Clay asked. She blew her nose into a tissue and waved off his question.

"Where were you guys? Chase Young came by acting all creepy again." Kimiko reported. She was immediately bombarded with questions about her health.

"Did he attack you?" Omi pulled on her arm, inspecting for cuts and bruises. She gentle shooed him away.

"Well… no, he just walked away. Like I said, creepy." She shivered. "So what Wu did you bag? I'm sorry I couldn't make it, I'm really trying to get better."

"We didn't go looking for Wu today." Raimundo confessed.

"I am most befuddled at how you can live in a city as large as Tokyo." Omi added. "The shops are far too crowded to find anything."

"You went to Tokyo without me?" Kimiko waited to be corrected, but the boys didn't object. Disheartened, she made her way back to her room, ignoring the apologizes the group offered.

"Kimiko wait!" Raimundo followed after her. "Kim, you've got the wrong idea."

"No it's fine!" Kimiko growled. "Don't mind me, I just happened to get sick going after the Wu, but I suppose vacation time is for closers." She felt a chill run down her spine, and had to lean against the wall for support. The dizziness had returned, along with an unfulfilled desire to do something. She couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"Kim, you need to calm down, you're not at your best." He moved to help her, but she shook him off.

"Don't treat me like a little kid!" Kimiko tried to shout, but her voice was starting to grow hoarse. "So what if I'm not at my best? I stayed out of the way, so why does it matter? I'll get better eventually, so stop~" A coughing fit came on that she was helpless to stop.

"Woah, hey! We didn't ask you to stay out of the way." Raimundo objected as he helped her to a sitting position in the airy hall. "Why would we ever do that?"

"You~ You didn't~ have to~ I got the message." Kimiko choked out between coughs.

"The only message you were supposed to get was that we were worried about you, and it is impossible to find anything in Tokyo without you." He set down a plain brown box with green Japanese kana between them.

"Is that?"

"Mochi, from that small shop you kept bragging about." Raimundo said. "I know being sick sucks, but we figured this might cheer you up a bit. It's mango." Kimiko let out a raspy laugh.

"Gosh I'm such an idiot, I let that stupid-" She coughed again.

"Don't worry about it." Raimundo chuckled. "You'll be fine." Hesitantly she opened the box, to find pale orange spheres nestled between paper wrappers. She plucked one from the box, as did he.

"Hey, I thought these were for me." She grinned.

"What? I wanted to find out what was so great about the whole wrapping ice cream in stuff." Raimundo defended as he popped one in his mouth.

"You're gonna' to get sick." Kimiko scolded.

"Maybe, maybe not." Raimundo shrugged. The two shared a quiet moment looking out at the wrecked garden bathed in starlight. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cross posting from fanfiction. It's going to take me a bit to go through and edit the remaining chapters, as I have several projects going at once.


	2. Quiet Riot

Thunder crashed through the darkened sky. Rain fell down in sheets toward the cool autumn ground that surrounded the Xiaolin Temple. The four monks watched the evening downpour from the kitchen with a range of disappointment and excitement.

"I guess there won't be any training today." Kimiko sighed contently over a cup of tea.

"Yeah, it's a real shame." Raimundo joked with a shake of his head. "Who wants popcorn?"

"Send it over here!" Clay cheered from a worn couch in the nook of their shared quarters.

"We should be spending our time meditating or doing something productive," Omi moped, "not wasting our time with movies."

"Pfft, you're only saying that cause your movie wasn't picked first." Raimundo said as he plopped down next to Clay.

"Charlotte's Web is a most fitting form of visual entertainment!" Omi objected.

"That's all well and good," Clay agreed, "but don't you think it's a little… young?" Granted, he loved a movie about talking animals as much as the next, but he wasn't about to open Raimundo for any jokes on his behalf.

"Don't listen to them Omi, we can watch your movie next." Kimiko said as she set up her laptop so everyone could see.

"So what do we got lined up first?" Clay asked.

"One Missed Call." Kimiko grinned. "A spirit uses phone calls to kill people in gruesome ways. It's kinda like Final Destination, only with more of a plot."

"And we are quite certain that this is the movie of choice?" Omi asked, pulling his knees to his chest to make room for Kimiko on the floor.

"Wait a minute, are you scared?" Raimundo asked. Omi shook his head fervently. "If you are, we can pick something else." He suggested with sincerity.

"No, I am fine. Just put the movie in." As the red and black menu screen lit up the tv, Master Fung appeared in the doorway.

"Raimundo." Master Fung called from outside the dorm.

"Yeah, hold on," handed his popcorn bowl over to Clay, "don't start the movie yet guys, I'll be right back." He sprung up from the couch and answered the door. "What's up? Is something wrong?" Master Fung shook his head.

"You are late for today's lesson."

"Sorry, I just figured practice was canceled as usual, 'cause of the rain." He gestured to the slow growing pools on the temple grounds.

"A Shoku Warrior trains not only his body, but his mind. You have but one assignment for today, and then you can return to your motion pictures." Raimundo took one forlorn glance back to his friends.

"Is everything alright?" Kimiko asked.

"Yeah, just… go ahead and start without me. I have a Shoku assignment to do real quick, and then I'll be back."

* * *

Trapped within the confines of the scroll room, Raimundo couldn't hear anything from the movie. Unfortunately, that didn't stop Dojo from providing live commentary on his assignment and a wealth of distraction.

"So what's the deal with this whole 'Dragon Festival' thing?" Raimundo asked as he skimmed over a torn scroll. Researching scrolls for hidden showdown techniques was one thing, that was fun. Doing a history paper on old temple holidays, considerably less fun. Especially in the no fun temple, that to his knowledge, never opened its doors to the public.

Dojo safely shook his head. "Oh no you don't, Master Fung said you had to research this on your own." He said, as he munched on a handful of funions.

"Then why are you here?" Raimundo frowned.

"With so many scrolls eaten in the great potato famine, I'm here to fill in the gaps, so to speak." He chuckled. "Once you find them that is; other than that, my lips are sealed. No hints! Besides, this room is nice and sound proof. I prefer to eat my chips without the ambiance of dying scream queens." He shuddered and went back to shoveling in his pungent snack.

Raimundo rolled his eyes and went back to his reading. He had found numerous accounts of the rituals preformed at the festival, foods that were eaten and jokes that had been told. But very little was written about how it came to be and why the yearly celebration came to an end. Supposedly when the temple found a new dragon, the dragon festival was used to introduce them to the world. Yet from the day they arrived the only celebration held was a humble new years and a short vacation for Christmas. All other events had been left in the hands of the young monks, not the temple elders. Come to think of it, the only elder monk he ever talked to was Master Fung.

"Why wasn't the festival on when we showed up at the temple?" Raimundo asked as he turned to the small dragon. Dojo rapidly shook his head, spreading crumbs across the room. "Come on Dojo, you gotta give me that." Dojo shook his head again fervently. Raimundo sighed and turned back to the scroll. "As the rim of the sun left the fountain, expectant mothers would don the robes of the previous dragon warrior in hopes that their child would be chosen to become a future Xiaolin Warrior..." He recited as he read. This was going to take longer than he thought.

* * *

The laptop screen flashed as the heroine reached for her friend, begging him not to answer the phone. He flipped it open and the elevator above him came crashing down on top of him with an audible squelch. With a terrified scream, the girl curled up in front of the crushed body, her profuse tears blocked by Omi as he ran out of the room.

"Omi?" Kimiko asked.

"He's probably going to the bathroom." Clay shrugged, his eyes trained on the screen. "Oh come on! That's not how a bone fractures!" Kimiko waited about ten minutes before going into the kitchen to check on the youngest member of their group. "Omi, are you in here?" There was a short clatter as a familiar yellow head peered over the island counter. "What's going on, are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I'm just getting some snacks." Omi quickly replied. He shifted, distracted, to the cupboards.

"Really you've been gone for 15 minutes." Kimiko frowned.

"Yes, I just had to get some delicious," He pulled out a random box and glanced down, "Raisin Bran." Another scream emanated from the sleeping quarters, coupled by Clay's indignant outcry about inaccurate anatomical representation. Visibly startled, Omi clutched the box of cereal looking away from the hall.

"Are sure you're not afraid of the movie?" Kimiko asked as she joined him at his side.

"Of course not, I'm a Xiaolin Warrior. I can handle anything." He argued and took three forced steps toward the dorm before another scream stopped him in his tracks.

"You know it's okay to be scared." Kimiko soothed. "We can watch something else, I'm sure the Clay won't object."

"That doesn't make sense…. How is it okay to be scared? If you're scared, you can't help anyone, you're weak." He didn't move, his gaze trained at the floor.

"Well, everybody gets scared sometimes." She reasoned.

"But I'm not everybody; if I fail, I could lose everything!" Omi shouted frustrated.

"This isn't about the movie is it?" Crouching down, she looked him in the eye. "What's really bothering you." He looked away. "I promise I won't laugh or anything." She said crossing her heart with her finger.

"I… I keep having nightmares." Omi mumbled. "You and everyone around me is so old. Because I went missing; the whole world is destroyed. I kept trying to do the right thing, to fix it, but I fail every time. I failed and you all and Raimundo-" Omi whimpered, the box he was holding slowly crushed under neither his frustrated grip. It had felt so real, each night seeing the same scene play out like a haunting memory. His friends had died before him and he was powerless to stop it.

"Hey, hey," She gingerly took the cereal from him and pulled him in for a hug, "it's just a bad dream; it never really happened." She didn't quite understand what was going on, but Omi obviously wasn't quite ready to talk about it yet. Omi shook his head, hiding his tears in her shirt. All Dojo kept telling him whenever he brought up the incident with the Sands of Time was that in 'this world' it never happened. Even if he and Dojo remembered things from the other time lines, they were the only ones that would remember it, so it never really happened. After a while the memories would fade and everything would go back to the way it was. 

"But it could happen," Omi argued, "I have to stop it, but I don't know how!"

"Omi calm down, look at me. I'm right here; Raimundo and Clay are right down the hall. If something really bad does go down, you won't be alone, you have us." She reasoned. "That's why you have us; we're here together so we don't have to go it alone." There was another shout from Clay, accusing the movie of using too much blood. "Whenever you're ready, we can go talk to Clay and see if we can watch something else, okay?" Furiously whipping away his tears, Omi nodded. He felt a little silly crying about what Dojo assured him were just dreams, but it was nice knowing that Kimiko wasn't going to give him a hard time about it.

* * *

An electric hum harmonized with the thunder outside the suburban home in Arizona. A lone figure sat illuminated by artificial light within a darkened lab.

"Tubbimura… no." Jack sighed as he deleted the e-mail address from his contact list. "Panda Bubba… definitely not. Ashley… not worth the cat puns and drama." He had originally planned to weed out a few dead contacts from his computer. However, as he went down the list, he found most of the evil doers he knew had betrayed him at least twice. "Chase Young…" His cursor hovered over the delete bar. Countless times he had tried to impress the self proclaimed 'Dark Prince', and each time he fell flat on his face, literally. One click and he could jump out of the cycle.

He skipped over it. Sure he had messed up a few times in his hero's eyes, but it was never really his fault. He was perfect apprentice material. Even if it meant a downgrade in title, he would contact the villain again; only after he got a killer plan as inscrutable proof of his worth. That could take a while to procure. Especially with the way his address book looked lately.

"Vlad… still on vacation. The Black Vipers… I don't think Jessie blocked me… yet." No good, now he was just getting frustrated. "There has to be someone left to team up with!" He rubbed his temples. "I can't even bug the Xiaolin losers until it stops raining. Maybe the rain'll give me some ideas." He sighed and opened a window to let in the autumn drizzle. In the meantime, he'd have to find a different way to kill some time.

* * *

It had been an hour and a half, and Raimundo had gotten no further than he had fifty minutes ago.

"I gotta go clear my head." He told Dojo. The dragon nodded silently in reply. "I'll be back in a couple minutes." Taking his leave, Raimundo strolled down the dimly lit hallway. He had never gone so far back in the temple before. Anything past the eastern door to the meditation room had never been necessary for their training. However, he really needed a change of scenery. Eventually he came to a simple, elegant door. Golden dragons formed the handle, begging to be opened by an inquisitive mind. With a great deal of effort, Raimundo pushed the door open and walked inside.

All around him weapons and sashes were displayed like trophies. Some had names engraved beneath them, others their respective level or element. It appeared he had had found where Master Fung kept all of the Xiaolin Warrior stuff before they increased their levels of training. On the far back wall,w ith five Chinese symbols engraved on the top hung a glass case above an iron chest. Behind the glass he found the elegant robes of warriors past that he had read about during his studies. Fine silk dragons were woven together with hues associated with their element made each a tapestry all their own. He recognized the plain white robe as the one Dashi had worn in his prime, but two of the dress stands were bare.

"WHO'S THERE!?" A weathered voice boomed as the wooden doors slammed open. Raimundo squinted at the sudden intrusion of light, unable to recognize the silhouette or voice. "You've picked the wrong temple to steal from you scrawny little urchin!" An old man hobbled over angrily and took a tight hold of Raimundo's arm. He pulled roughly, dragging him out of the room.

"Let go of me, I'm not a thief!" As the doors slammed shut, Raimundo wrenched his arm free. He quickly gestured to his attire, hoping the room's dim lighting was responsible for the misunderstanding. "I'm the Shoku Warrior of Wind! I was just doing a research assignment." The weathered old man curled his peppered mustache into a disgruntled sneer. He huffed, a weariness hidden within his abundant anger.

"Didn't your babysitter tell you where the scroll room is?" Raimundo was quick to recover from the stab at both Master Fung and himself, to which he retaliated in kind.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, he did unlike you." He crossed his arms to keep from fidgeting. 

"Then you would do well to remember your place and go back from where you came. I don't care how high up you think you are, _children_ are not allowed in this part of the temple. Especially unsupervised ones. If I catch you poking around in other people's business again; I can assure you, you won't remain the dragon of wind for long." He waited for Raimundo to begin walking back toward the scroll room before leaving himself. As Raimundo glared angrily over his shoulder, he saw an elegant dragon stitched into the old man's robes, surrounded by silk vines.

* * *

At last the rain had subsided. Jack eagerly took the chance to ditch his game and raid the temple. As he crept across the grounds, he noted that it was eerily quiet. Without a second glance, he entered the vault and pulled out something akin to a shopping list. He stopped short when he noticed the vault was already open. Without any Jack bots to protect him, he resorted to ducking behind a pillar. When he peaked to see who was there, he found the last person he expected to see.

"Le Mime? What are you doing here?"

Equally startled, the French clown turned to Jack and grabbed his own hat. After placing a hand over his heart, he gestured to the vault and then held up the Serpent's Tail; a sword hung from his back.

"Well I kinda figured you were stealing stuff," he said with an eye roll, "but what are you doing here? I thought you had gone back to France?"

Le Mime held up a finger then cupped his ear in the direction of the hallway. A dull crunch reverberated down the hall. Jack swore under his breath and swooped into the vault.

"Yeah, I know," Jack whispered in reply to the Mime's wild gestures toward the door. "I'm just getting something real quick. I have a jet out back." With a face palm, Le Mime kept watch. The crunching sound grew louder, until a small green dragon with a bag of chips slithered through the door.

"What on Earth?" Dojo muttered as he saw the two teens and the open vault. "HEY-" In a panic, Le Mime clumsily swung the sword at the dragon's throat.

"Dude, what the heck man!" Jack exclaimed. Yet the dragon didn't have a scratch. With an exaggerated mimic of a sigh, Le Mime held up the handle of the sword and displayed the newly attached orb. Then he gestured at the dragon who, try as he might, couldn't say a word. "Don't scare me like that!" Le Mime urged Jack to leave, closing the vault behind them as an afterthought. As they closed in on the jet, a thought struck the boy genius. "Hey, you actually had my back there." It wasn't like the clown had to help him, they just ran into each other. "Do you… uh, need a ride?" Le Mime nodded his head emphatically as the alarm on the grounds went off. "Hop in."

The jet flew off, free of pursuit. Neither the smeared scenery nor Jack's confused babbling succeeded in capturing the mime's attention. He glared down at his prize, this wasn't the one he was looking for, but it was worth a shot.

* * *

At the sound of the alarm, the group came running from all corners of the temple. When they arrived, nothing seemed out of place, other than Dojo flailing excitedly on the floor.

"What in Sam Hill is going on?" Clay asked. Dojo pointed to his silent, gaping, maw.

"Maybe a Shen Gong Wu's been revealed," Kimiko suggested, "it would explain why he's acting wierd." A quick scan over the scroll yielded nothing. Whatever had set the dragon off, it wasn't a new Wu.

"Great, this day just keeps getting better." Raimundo sighed as Dojo searched through the scroll. "I just ran into some crotchety old man on a power trip who though I was stealing something. We've been here for like what, a year? He can't kick me out just for looking at some old clothes."

"This man, did he have three scars down his right eye?" Omi asked. Now that Raimundo thought about it, he did have three claw like scars down his face.

"Yeah, you know him?"

"That was Grand Master Bardon," Omi said solemnly, "he is the one who runs this temple."

"If he runs the temple, why have we never seen him?" Clay asked.

"Yeah, I always thought Master Fung was in charge." Kimiko added.

"Well, he hates outsiders. Even I've never seen him myself." Omi sighed. "Technically, the temple is closed to the public, but since Master Fung is training us, we are allowed to stay. You're the first new students since, well, me."

"That doesn't seem right," Kimiko sighed, "I mean, how could all of these old men start learning if the temple was closed off to everyone except the dragons in training?"

"No kidding," Raimundo agreed, "this place used to have all kinds of festivals that the whole town would come to." A clatter startled the group as Dojo came to the section of scroll he needed, only to find it had been used as food during the great potato famine. They really should start keeping a new copy of the scroll for times like these. He held up the torn scroll in frustration. "Yeah, I get it, I'll go finish my assignment. Clay, before you get back to the movie, could you check the security system. If a loose wire is setting it off then we need to know. I have more scrolls to read."

* * *

"Man, I wish I could have seen their faces!" Jack cackled as the door to his home swung wide. "You know, that worked pretty well. I bet if we keep at it, we could slowly empty the vault right under their nose."

Le Mime took a long look around the foyer of Jack's elegant home. Surprised by the darkness of home, he pointed to a picture of a well-dressed couple.

"Hunh?" It took a while to translate what the Mime was asking. "Those are my parents, they aren't home. But check out what I snagged." He held up the Heart of Jong with pride. "I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it yet, but it's going to be awesome!"

With a pointed look at Jack, Le Mime held up his new Wu, and placed it inside an invisible safe. When Jack didn't reply, he repeated the action and pointed at Jack.

"No thanks, I have my own." Jack dismissed.

With his hand pressed to his fore-head in mock salute, Le Mime made a large sweeping motion as if to look for something.

"It's not up here, it's downstairs in the lair; Le Mime?" The clown hurried downstairs, and looked for the safe. "Dude, chill out, there's no hurry." He said as he removed a picture of a safe. "It would be best if we lay low for a few hours, just to keep the Xiaolin losers off kilter." He opened a steal panel and placed his Wu inside the empty safe.

Le Mime was shocked that the boy genius didn't have more Wu. He attempted to act out his inquiry; however the abstract concept was difficult to mime and earned only a perplexed look from his companion.

"We have to get you a chalk board or Google translate or something." He said with a shake of his head. "I just got the new Soul Fighter game, want to go head to head?"

Admitting defeat for the moment, Le Mime shrugged his shoulders and followed him back upstairs. In a few hours, they would try to hit the temple again.

* * *

When the darkened clouds finally began to dissipate, the sun was far too low for it to have an impact on the sky line. Raimundo joined his friends for dinner, as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

"That took way a lot longer than it should have." He sighed over his noodles. "I knocked over a pile of scrolls that I already read and had to sort through them again to find the one scroll I needed."

"At least you're done now." Kimiko smiled. "You can just chill out for the rest of the day."

"What was it you had to research?" Omi asked after a sip of tea.

"The legend of Long Mu*, she was some lady that raised and trained the first five dragon warriors. In honor of her sacrifice, the dragons continued to protect the temple after her death. From their whiskers, the robes of future dragon warriors were made and passed down with their elements. Some stuff with Wuya happened, the original temple was destroyed, and Dashi rebuilt it. The day it was finished was the first dragon festival." He rubbed his temples. "Huge chunks of the scroll were missing, but Dojo wasn't anywhere to help."

"Now hold on minute, what do you mean _five_ dragons?" Clay asked. "There are only four of us." Raimundo frowned. Five robes were made for the dragon warriors. One was missing; the other was on the back of the Grand Master.

"Right, there are four dragons in training, one dragon warrior," Raimundo agreed, "Grand Master Bardon has to be the last one, he was wearing one of the robes-" A loud siren blared through the hall. "Not again—alright, move out!"

* * *

The group plowed into the vault, a bitter breeze ventilated the darkness. Through the dampened lamp light they could see the staircase had been lowered, yet it didn't appear that anything had been taken.

"Let's go check it out." Kimiko suggested, but Raimundo held up a hand.

"Hold up, something isn't quite right." There was a subtle sound of metal hitting stone, at the far corner of the temple vault. "Fan out." He whispered. Kimiko swept the side of the vault with a blast from the Hanabi Star. The flames licked at the floor, creating shadows of a lone figure along the wall.

"Shoku Wind!" Raimundo summoned and sent a torrent toward the source of the shadow. After a few tumbles, Jack stumbled into view.

"Jack Spicer!" Kimiko hissed, "How did you get past our security?!"

"Are you kidding?" Jack scoffed, as he straightened his jacket. "The vault combination is my ringtone." He glanced nervously at the vault. "Besides, that motion sensor laser is easily avoidable."

"If it's so easy to avoid, how'd it get tripped?" Raimundo asked, as he slid into a fighting stance.

"I don't know. Maybe it was a bird." Jack shrugged. Clay wrinkled his brow. Jack was one to monologue, that was for sure, but this was too casual for a typical break-in into the vault. He wasn't making his usual jabs at the team, yet he also wasn't begging for his life. He was stalling. Slipping behind the others to check on the vault, he noticed a few of the drawers had been opened. There was the slight feeling of warmth behind him, and as he turned he grabbed the first thing he could to block the swing of a sword.

"Well, well, well. Look who's back!" Clay grimaced. The bell chain in his grasp was silent, but his snide comment caught the attention of his teammates. In a frenzy, the other monks chased after Jack who was zooming around the room with the help of his helipack.

Le Mime gritted his teeth. The handle of his sword was weighted with the crystallized sounds from the bells and drawers of the vault. Without the Reversing Mirror, they wouldn't do him much use. He took a step back, which gave Clay a chance to let go of the bells. As he reached for the Fist of Tebigong, Le Mime took another slash, nicking Clay on the arm. With a sly grin, Le Mime swung the sword in a lazy circle. Clay slide his hand into the glove and opened his mouth the call out the Wu's name.

But nothing came out.

The Wu refused to summon magical strength. Taking advantage of his confusion, Le Mime kicked Clay in the chin, sending him stumbling backwards. Raimundo slipped behind them, and used the mute bells as a bola. Le Mime became tangled, his weapon dropped out of reach.

Kimiko's rapid fire technique finally produced results. One of the flaming missiles aimed right for Jack's chest.

"Reversing Mirror!" He shouted. Kimiko dodged the rebound and threw another that hit the square into one of Jack's propeller blade. He crashed a few meters away.

"Get him Omi!" Kimiko shouted. The boy genius scrambled backwards in a haphazard crab walk. Omi gripped the Orb of Tornami in his hands as he stared at the face of his longtime rival. Though Jack looked frightened, Omi couldn't shake the haunting image of the aged Emperor of Darkness that had lead to the demise of his friends. "Omi, what are you doing?" His muscles felt ridged and cold, and once again he couldn't will his limbs to move. Jack pulled himself to his feet and ran away from the tiny Xiaolin Warrior.

"I-I forgot my Jack bots at home!" Jack squealed. "I'll be back though!" He ran out of the temple and the monks' focus turned to Le Mime.

"Clay," Raimundo asked as he repeatedly slapped the gasping Cowboy on the back, "what's going on?" Dojo slithered out of Clay's hat and made a beeline toward the sword. He riffled through the cluster of orbs until he found a light green one. Heedless of the monks warnings, Dojo swallowed the orb like a bitter pill. With a hoarse cough he held up the katana.

"Behold the dreaded Sword of Silence. A powerful Shen Gong Wu that has been causing me trouble all day. Clay I believe this is yours." He tossed a golden orb. "Fair warning, it'll taste like it sounds so…" He trailed off leaving the judgment up for interpretation. Clay swallowed it quickly, pounding on his chest as it crawled down his throat.

"Why would someone make something like this?" Raimundo took the sword from Dojo to examine it closer.

"Well, to keep people from using other Wu." Dojo nodded. "If Wu acted on thought," he whistled, "we may not have had as many Grand Masters as we do. Kids think weird things sometimes, best to keep that away from magic at all cost."

"What are we going to do with him?" Clay asked.

"I'm sure the Eiffel Tower misses him dearly." Kimiko chuckled, the Golden Tiger Claws in hand.

* * *

The house was as dark as Jack had left it. He thundered down the stairs to his lab and flicked on the lights. To his surprise, the lab was completely trashed. Nothing seemed to be missing, but all of his stuff had been tossed about and rifled through. Cast aside on the floor was Le Mime's Serpent's Tail. The usual ambiance of humming machines was broken by a dark chuckle from the ceiling.

"It seems someone was looking for you, or at least something you have."

"Hannibal Bean!" Jack exclaimed. "W-what do you want?"

"Me? I was just trying to provide decent company, seeing how the last person you let in your home wanted to rob you blind." Hannibal gestured an undulating sprout toward Jack's chest. "He probably didn't notice you were wearing it the whole time." Jack tugged on a chain around his neck to stare his shrunken Reversing Mirror. It had done a good job acting as a safety net for when he was unarmed.

"No, that doesn't make sense. Le Mime can't use everyday Wu." Jack said with a shake of his head. Hannibal was trying to play him again, probably trashed the lab too. "He doesn't talk."

"But combined with the Sword of Silence he could." Hannibal suggested casually. "Then again, natural magic tends to be unpredictable in the presence of the Shen Gong Wu." Jack's shocked face made him chuckle. "What, did Wuya forget to teach you that when you learned to detect magic?"

"Wuya didn't teach me to detect magic, she always did it herself." Jack confessed. Hannibal scoffed at the idea.

"That's the first thing one learns aside from the basic rules of magic." He waited a beat before prompting. "To gain ultimate power one must…"

"Take over the world?" Jack offered.

"Make the ultimate sacrifice!" Hannibal corrected. "Like your clown friend that gave up his voice to use magic, or how Dashi gave up his body to achieve enlightenment. What kind of apprentice doesn't-"

"I was never Wuya's apprentice!" Jack interjected. "She never taught me anything. We were partners! Well, we were supposed to be. I had to figure everything out on my own."

"Oh," Hannibal shrugged, "I guess she never trusted you." He always had a talent for hitting sore spots. The way the red headed genius deflated over a single sentence was delicious.

"That- that's her loss." Jack snorted. "I don't need her. I don't need anyone and that includes you." He turned his back and loaded a cleaning program into two of the Jack Bots.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, kid." Hannibal said with a shake of his head. He sneered as a third Jack-Bot floated up toward his hiding spot in the rafters. "I'd prefer to show myself out."

* * *

Later that night, Omi sat under the temple's protected awning as rain pounded on the ground. Master Fung quietly took a seat next to him, his to watch the downpour on the temple ground.

"I am surprised you have yet to question my decision in letting Raimundo advance before you." Master Fung stated gently. "What changed?"

"I brought shame to this temple." Omi frowned.

"Oh? How so?"

"I stood in the face of the enemy, and I froze, I- I couldn't fight." He pulled his legs to his chest. "…a few times."

"Omi," Master Fung said sternly, "you cannot bring shame to this temple by being human." He sighed. "A warrior's honor is not tied to his courage. We protect those who cannot protect themselves, yes, but that duty alone is not what defines us." Omi nodded absently. He meant no disrespect, but he knew if he were to try to speak his mind he would begin sniveling again. "I have no doubts that you will be able to find a balance. And I'm am proud of how you've been helping your teammates."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Long Mu: Also spelled Longmu, translates literally into 'Mother of Dragons'. She is human figure in Chinese mythology that transcended to the status of goddess after raising five dragons.

**Author's Note:**

> A big thanks go to my young sibling, who looked this over for me, hopefully this is typo free. I tried to keep the flavor of the original show if it could grow up with the fans. I feel that being eternally young isn't something that you can just simply accept. Like with all things, some sacrifice is involved, and not necessarily in the way we expect it. Thank you for reading and reviewing.


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